The Boro door was wide open in the summer with 11 new senior players taking up residency over at Rockliffe.

And for some, including Victor Valdes, Calum Chambers and Marten de Roon, it didn't take long for them to establish themselves as regulars in Aitor Karanka's side.

But who has been the best of the summer signings?

We asked you for your say on the matter the top three are revealed in the video above.

Fair enough?

We also put the question to our writers.

Anthony Vickers - Fabio: 'A £2m snip'

When Fabio da Silva arrived in August everyone assumed he was pencilled in as cover for George Friend.

Now he is among the first names penned on the team sheet. With the big name summer signings taking the spotlight, the Brazilian full-back slipped in under the radar looking like ‘a utility man’ and leaving fans a little underwhelmed.

Champions League medal or not, it seemed he would be cover at left-back. Maybe at left-back. Possibly as wing-back at a push in the far-fetched scenario of a tactical change.

He looked like a benchwarmer at best.

But Fabio has seized the opportunities offered by injuries to put down a massive marker and now there is a popular bandwagon pressing his case as first choice right-back. Or left back.

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Ironically he was injured on his debut at Fulham in the League Cup but has roared back to be one of Boro’s most consistent, productive and potent players. He stepped in for Friend and was an instant hit.

With George back, Barragan suffered a timely knock and he showed he was just as comfortable on the right.

Fabio is fast, feisty and tough in the tackle and can out-jump players a lot taller plus he has great awareness making him a solid and disciplined defender.

And has good engines, good feet and an attacking instinct making him one of Boro’s most creative outlets with his overlapping runs and deliveries.

It's not every season a newly promoted club acquires a striker of genuine international class, but that's what Middlesbrough did when when brought in the vastly-experienced Spaniard on a season-long loan from Valencia.

They say form is temporary and class is permanent. Well, Negredo is a class act.

What's more, he's a team player. Remember the days of Fabrizio Ravanelli, who would moan, shout and sulk when things didn't go his way on the pitch.

Negredo no doubt gets frustrated with a lack of service, but he continues to run his socks off for the team and keeps his own counsel. He's no big time Charlie.

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Remember his opening day finish against Stoke, his brace at Leicester, his stunning goal against Swansea, the penalty he won and converted against West Brom, his useful assists.

And let's not forget that, unlike Ravanelli, Negredo has been a model pro off the pitch, enjoying life in the North-east of England and often tweeting pics of himself and his happy family.

In the remaining 13 Premier League games, Boro will need characters who rise to the occasion and deliver the goods. Negredo is a player who can turn a defeat into a draw, a draw into a win, he's the real deal.

Jonathon Taylor - Victor Valdes: 'Arguably back to the peak of his powers'

At the beginning of the season, it's safe to say Victor Valdes wasn't winning any popularity contests on Teesside.

Many felt Dimi Konstantopoulos deserved a first-team chance in the Premier League, and that's a feeling that hasn't gone away.

That's understandable - the experienced Greek stopper played an undisputed role in Boro's rise back to the Premier League, so for him to be taken out of the team after last season's heroics seemed a bit harsh.

Yet it was Valdes who came in as Aitor Karanka's favoured No 1, and with that came intense scrutiny. Any slip-up and the pro-Dimi brigade, both fans, journalists and pundits alike, were quick to pounce.

It's telling that the Boro goalkeeping situation is barely discussed now. Valdes found his feet, despite a stuttering first few weeks - which saw him sidelined through injury and struggling for consistency.

But the confidence flowed back into the Spaniard's veins, slowly but surely, and now the former Barcelona stopper is arguably back to the peak of his powers.

Victor Valdes

He has saved Boro points on his own this season, and at vital times. The home win over Bournemouth when he made a point-blank save at 0-0 is just one example.

Then there were the away games at Arsenal and Man City, the home game with Everton just the other week. The list goes on.

Indeed, arguably the Burnley reverse aside on Boxing Day, it's hard to fault Valdes for any of the goals that Boro have conceded this season - and that's decent going for a goalkeeper who arrived at the Riverside having hardly played a match in two years.

As Valdes' confidence has grown, so has Boro's defensive resolve - and the 35-year-old will have to put in a few more sparkling performances between now and the end of the season if the Teessiders are to avoid the drop.

But credit where credit is due. Valdes has passed every test in front of him so far this season - and continues to prove the early-season doubters wrong.

Andrew Glover - Adama Traore: 'He's exhilarating to watch'

Adama Traore prompts sharp intakes of breath.

He's unpredictable. Raw. Chaotic.

He will, in all likelihood, end up costing someone a lot of money.

Boro will receive their record transfer fee by a greater distance than Traore would beat me in a dash.

And you haven't seen me trundle up Acklam Road of an evening.

Boro have largely played functional football this season. Aitor Karanka knows his side's strengths and it would be silly not to play to them.

Ben Gibson, Adam Forshaw and more recently Fabio have been Boro's standout performers at different stages due to their discipline and workrate. All have looked at home at this level.

As demonstrated on Saturday when he delivered two crosses from the left which resulted in goals against Oxford United.

The thing is though, you don't need numbers to tell the tale of Fabio's quality. Just watch him play. That will tell you all you need to know.

He's a bundle of energy, small in stature but in possession of the courage to tackle in a full-blooded fashion as well as charging forward at every given opportunity. He's a pleasure to watch and is now surely a starter in a full-strength Boro defence.

Given the pedigree of some of Boro's signings, Fabio almost arrived through the back door in the summer. There's been nothing under the radar about his performances though.

£2m?! One of the best bits of Boro business since the snip signing of George Friend from Doncaster Rovers. At 26, he can play a major part for Boro in the years ahead.